It is sometimes desirable to employ illuminating gaslights as in post lamps, entrance lights and street lamps to accomplish an aesthetic environment for a neighborhood characteristic of those in existence at the turn of the century. In many instances, however, it is impractical to employ illuminating gaslights for the reasons that either the supply of gas is unavailable, or the installation and maintenance of such gaslights is economically non-feasible. Accordingly, it has become the practice to imitate the illuminating gaslights by the provision of glow-type electrical lamps rather than an intense illuminating light. The glow-type lamps have proven unsatisfactory since the mellow glow emitted therefrom is unlike that of the gaslights.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,835, which issued to Horelick on Sept. 15, 1964, discloses a simulated gaslight having an electrical incandescent lamp and a mantle fitted thereover to achieve the effect of an illuminating gas lamp. The efficiency of an incandescent lamp is known to be relatively low.
Because of the increasing cost of electrical energy, the substitution of initially costlier but more energy efficient lamp types in place of incandescent lamps has become practical. Prime candidates for this substitution are the fluorescent and high intensity discharge lamps because of their high luminous efficacies.
Compact fluorescent lamp assemblies are known in which the envelope of the lamp includes at least two longitudinally extending leg members joined together by a transversely extending envelope portion. One example of such a lamp, which is commercially available, is the "Twin-Tube" fluorescent lamp manufactured by GTE Sylvania, Danvers, Mass. Other examples of similar lamp types are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,340, which issued to Bouwknegt et al on Feb. 15, 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,602, which issued to Mollet et al on Jan. 17, 1984; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,442, which issued to Albrecht et al on Nov. 6, 1984.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,460, which issued to Latassa et al on Aug. 31, 1982, is one example of a compact fluorescent lamp assembly for use with an incandescent fixture including a lamp envelope having four spaced apart leg members.
In lamps of the above type wherein a plurality of spaced apart leg members are employed, the light output resulting from the lamp is generally non-uniform (i.e., the silhouette of the individual leg members are clearly distinguishable). In particular, lighting applications where the lamp envelope is clearly exposed, the appearance may be aesthetically displeasing.